


what i want is to be with you

by seameetsearth



Series: two dumbasses slowly figure out they're in love [2]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Dancing, Fluff and Smut, Other, Semi-Public Sex, Vaginal Fingering, book 3 demo spoilers, cheesy nonsense, these two emotional dumbasses deserve each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seameetsearth/pseuds/seameetsearth
Summary: The detective and Mason dance, and they talk about stars.
Relationships: Detective/Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles), Nonbinary Detective/Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles)
Series: two dumbasses slowly figure out they're in love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993708
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	what i want is to be with you

This was unbearable.

Every step felt like a mistake, likely because it was; Mason was seriously regretting not paying more attention when Nat was trying to teach him the steps. He couldn't stop staring at his feet, which Nat had said was "improper" and "unacceptable", but how else was he supposed to keep from stepping on Billie's foot _again_? He grunted for what felt like the hundredth time as he abruptly shifted his foot at the last second to narrowly avoid yet another mishap, scowling all the while.

On top of that, the ballroom was too large for his liking, filled with too many people; the light was too bright, crystals dangling from the chandeliers, refracting to and from every angle and leaving no spot unlit; waiters kept walking by with trays of little finger foods that, despite their size, managed to assault his sense of smell with every pass; the suit the Agency had provided was scratching at his skin whenever he so much as thought about moving; and none of these assholes seemed to ever _shut the hell up_. He was learning way more about the business dealings and personal dramas of smarmy rich people than he ever wanted to know. And it was keeping him from focusing on these steps that he shouldn't be struggling with so much, goddammit — 

"You're doing pretty well, y'know."

Mason spared a moment to glance up at his partner. Billie was wearing an amused expression, and their eyes were lit up with a mirth that had only recently started showing up more often around Unit Bravo. It was far from unwelcome, but Mason forced himself to look back down and scoffed.

"I can do without the pity, thanks."

"No, I mean it," Billie insisted, gently running their thumb over his side where their hand rested. "You should've seen me the first few times I had to do this. I think Tina described it as 'somewhere between a toddler's first steps and a waddling duck.'"

That got a chuckle out of him, and he could see Billie grinning from the corner of his eye. "I can actually believe that." Billie was many things, but graceful wasn't one of them. Mason was actually a bit surprised they were pretty decent at this dancing thing; Billie didn't really seem like someone that would go for a ball. He meant to ask further, but as he made a step back, he felt his back collide with another dancer, and a frustrated growl came out instead. He quickly turned to snap at whoever made the stupid decision to stand right where Mason needed to be, but just as fast, Billie moved in front of him with a hand on his chest.

"Sorry about that," they blurted out before Mason would almost certainly say something they would all regret, their other hand raised in placation. (Well, Mason wouldn't regret it, but he imagined Ava and Nat would have some choice words for him, and that was usually worth avoiding.) The other dancer nodded, and Billie took a few moments to ask whether they were alright; uninterested, Mason spent the time noticing how Billie's hand was resting right over his heart. Their hand was warm, even through the irritatingly scratchy fabric of his suit, and he could feel their pulse tapping a faint beat through their fingertips. It was running a little faster than normal, but focusing on it helped bring his own frustration back down, until he was no longer in danger of jeopardizing the night over his two left feet.

Billie finally turned back to Mason, seemingly assured that the dancer wouldn't cause a scene, and they let their hand drag across his the sleeve of his suit as it slid down to grab his hand, threading their fingers through his own. "Come on, let's move a little farther away."

As he followed Billie's lead across the dance floor, he made a point to glare back at the dancer he had hit, smirking as they started a little. At least he could still tell someone to go fuck themselves with only a look, even if his dancing was shit.

Satisfied that they were far enough away from everyone to avoid another incident, Billie came to a stop. "This'll do," they said, looking up to meet Mason's eyes. The sheepish grin they had worn moments before turned back into a look that was becoming more and more familiar as of late. It was hard for Mason to describe; he wasn't entirely sure what Billie was trying to convey with it, only that it was... soft, and it made their blue eyes light up so _brightly_ , and it made his chest tighten up in a way that wasn't wholly uncomfortable. He stared back, lost for a moment as Billie's hand, still holding his own, squeezed briefly before raising them back into position.

"You mind if I take the lead this time?" They asked, that baffling look still in place.

Mason blinked, setting his confusion aside for now. His eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a sharp smile, letting just a hint of fang come out. "You're always welcome to take the lead, sweetheart." He leaned in as he spoke, each word bringing him closer, until he was whispering beside their ear. "You could lead us somewhere we could try a few different moves, if you'd like." He revelled in the heat he could feel starting to radiate from them and chuckled lowly as they lost their response to a stutter. Satisfied for now, he let them off easy and just blew a soft breath over the shell of their ear before backing away.

It looked like Billie managed to get a hold over the blush before it spread across their face, which was a shame, but it wasn't like he wouldn't have more chances to see it later. Their expression had changed to one of flustered indignation, which was always one of his personal favorites, and if he felt a twinge of disappointment that the odd look from before was gone, well, so be it.

"Come on now, sweetheart," he teased, "show me how it's done." He readjusted his hands so they fit more comfortably against Billie's hand and side while they regained their composure and followed suit, clearing their throat a few times before speaking again.

"So, this is just going to be a simple box step," they started. "You can watch our feet to begin with, but you shouldn't need to after a bit. Whenever I take a step, just follow along with the matching foot."

Mason watched as Billie moved their right foot back, and followed it forward with his left. He couldn't help but feel that the beam Billie shot at him was completely unwarrented.

"Great! Now follow with the other foot, and we'll turn it into a kind of sidestep at the same time." They brought their other foot back, but moved it out to the side instead of resting with the other. Mason kept silent and watched intently as he did his best to mirror the movements. "Exactly, now we just bring the other foot back in..."

After a few minutes going through the motions, Mason found that he could perform the steps with only a cursory glance at his feet every so often, and he looked up to see Billie looking almost smug.

"You're looking pleased with yourself there," he said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Ha, well, I guess I am a little proud of myself," they chuckled. "It's not a particularly complicated step, but I still never thought I'd be able to teach it to someone else."

Ah, that's right, he had a question about that. "How did you learn this, anyway?" Mason asked. "Dancing doesn't really seem your style."

"I suppose that's true," Billie said, leading him through the steps in time with the music without thought. "Since this ball is an annual thing, and attendance is mandatory for those at the station, I've had to come for the past... oh, four or five years." Mason let his thumb run over Billie's hand as they moved, and gave a small grin at the way their eyes flashed to where their hands met before continuing. "That first year though, it didn't take long for Tina to realize I was spending more time hiding in a corner than on the dance floor, and she couldn't have that. So, she was the one who sort of forced me to learn, ha."

"The bobblehead does seem like she can be - ack!" Mason flinched as Billie pinched his side. The glare they gave him lacked any real substance, but he acquiesced all the same. "Alright, sorry."

"Mmhmm." Billie waited a moment, gaze narrowed, as if to see if he had a smart remark coming. When he didn't, they continued. "Anyway, so Tina was the one who taught me, but this is actually about all I know. I can't do any fancy steps or anything, but to be fair, this is the only time I actually use these moves, so I think it works out okay."

Mason nodded, curiosity sated, and took a moment to look around the room as they danced in their own corner. He could spot Felix almost immediately; he had been a pretty popular dance partner all night, even though he wasn't exactly sticking to the moves Nat had tried to teach him — or maybe because he didn't stick to them. He almost scoffed, holding it in at the last moment; Felix was almost as bad at this as Mason, but he still had people watching like they were jealous of his partners. Nat was on the floor as well, and Mason had to admit, she seemed to fit right in. She had a poise about her that the rest of the team lacked, and she moved gracefully along the floor with light steps alongside her partners, completely at home in the atmosphere.

He saw Ava off to one side, a glass of wine in hand, her own icy eyes searching through the crowd for any possible threats. Agent Vale had been clear that this was supposed to be a low-risk event, because "even Trappers aren't dull-witted enough to try to pull something in the middle of an event this large with so many witnesses," but that didn't mean they should throw caution to the wind entirely. He was relieved to see Ava felt the same way.

"Have you ever done anything like this?" Billie asked, drawing his focus back. "Uh, since being with Unit Bravo, I mean," they quickly amended as soon as his gaze met theirs again, "not, not... before, you know."

"Not really," Mason huffed. "Nat sometimes gets pulled to go to these sorts of things, since she's so good at smooth-talking and knows all the rules. Ava might go along if Nat needs back up, but no, this isn't really my area. Or Felix's, for that matter," he adds with a glance back at the young vampire. Felix was laughing loudly as he swung his partner around the floor, completely abandoning the slower tempo of the song. 

"Fair enough," Billie smiled as they watched Felix's partner try to regain their balance.

They continued to dance together, hand in hand, exchanging small touches and making comments on their teammates, until the song slowly drew to an end. As the band played the final notes, Billie came to a stop and took a step back. Mason noted they didn't take their hand out of his, but made no move to do so himself either.

"Do you..." He watched as they glanced away, took a breath, and looked back to him. "Do you want to head outside? It'll be quieter there."

Mason hadn't really been listening to anything other than Billie's voice and heartbeat for a while now, but he wasn't about to say no to both getting away from the crowd and having another chance to put one of those all-consuming blushes on their face. 

"Lead the way, sweetheart."

* * *

The night air was cooler than he would really like, but Mason wasn't going to complain when it came with the relief of being away from the ritzy hell inside. A speaker had taken the stage after the dancing had puttered out, and apparently she was interesting enough that nobody else had taken the chance to escape to the balcony with them. He'd made sure to catch Ava's eye to let her see them head out and had gotten a brisk nod in return. Well, and a stare that was definitely warning him not to put the detective into any... _compromising_ situations. He grinned at the thought as he folded his arms and leaned against the railing of the balcony, looking at the mountains in the distance; Billie was next to him, staring up at the clear night sky. Billie seemed content for the moment to let the quiet settle around them, and Mason didn't feel the need to break the silence himself, so, for a time, they just existed in each other's presence.

Getting a reaction out of Billie - any kind, really; embarrassed, exasperated, excited - was definitely his favorite way to spend their time together, but truthfully, this right here was a close second. He could feel the rest of the world fade into the background in a way it never did at any other time, his senses only picking up on the feel of the heat from Billie's skin and the sound of their heart thumping its steady rhythm and the faintly sweet scent of their shampoo.

And while Mason didn't understand the how or why of it, he could damn sure appreciate it. 

A cool breeze had him watching as Billie pushed their short hair back out of their eyes, drawing their gaze away from the sky for a moment, and that must have been enough for them to break out of their thoughts, because they turned to him and asked, "Do you like stargazing?"

He thought for a second and shrugged. "Not particularly."

Billie just hummed in response and turned back, looking up at the sky again. 

"Do you?" He asked in return.

They laughed. "Not particularly."

He raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"I don't feel especially strongly about the stars," Billie answered, somehow knowing he was asking without even looking. "I don't know them by name or anything, and I would struggle to point out any constellation if you asked, except maybe Orion's Belt. But... they are beautiful, you know?" They kept their eyes trained upward, as if searching for something as they spoke. "I've never been religious or spiritual, but there's a sort of kinship, knowing that you can look up and see the same stars people were seeing thousands of years ago."

They gave a heavy sigh before continuing. "We're too close to the city here to really get to see them, though. Light pollution, and all."

Mason huffed. "Damn shame."

Billie nodded firmly in agreement. "It is. I'd lived in the city for a few years after college before moving back here, and of course you can't see a thing there. It's not a bad life, living in the city, but I don't think I'd ever trade being able to see even just this." They looked at him from the corner of their eye and asked, "You guys said you'd been to Alaska, right? Were you able to see more than this?"

He leaned back from the railing as he thought. "I guess so. I didn't pay much attention at the time. It was so fucking cold, I was trying not to freeze to death."

Billie exhaled sharply in laughter and hummed quietly. "I wish I could see it. If you get far enough away from cities, you're supposed to be able to see all the stars, and the Milky Way, and some other planets, even. I bet it's gorgeous."

"Then why don't you?"

They started and turned to face him fully, their eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

"Why don't you go?" He repeated. "Make the trip, see the stars. They're not going anywhere."

They huffed quietly. "I can't exactly do something like that now."

"Why not?"

"Well," they started counting on their fingers, "I've got a bounty on my head for one; even if the supernaturals in the area I went to weren't aware of it, they'd be able to smell my battery-powering super blood, for two; and for three, I can't leave Wayhaven, knowing what... what Murphy's actions did." They had to stop and take a moment before they could say Murphy's name, and Mason felt his own eyes narrow at the mention of him. "Mom said that what he did would be attracting all sorts of supernaturals here, right? So how could I leave town for a vacation knowing —"

"And what makes you think you're alone in any part of this?"

Billie paused, three fingers still in mid-count. "I'm sorry?"

"The team is more than capable of handling whatever pops up here," he said, and then, without a second thought, he added, "and I'd go with you, dumbass."

Their mouth was gaping open now. "That's... you, I mean, you don't, you don't have to..."

_Add 'eloquent' alongside 'graceful' on the list of Things Billie Isn't_ , Mason thought as he rolled his eyes. 

"We've been over this before, sweetheart."

He watched as Billie picked their jaw back up, and their expression slowly turned from shock to something like awe, though he wasn't quite sure why. Surely it wasn't that weird?

"You don't do things you don't want to do," they said, each word sounding somehow like it was a revelation to them, and suddenly it hit Mason, as well.

He had said those words to Billie before, that he didn't do things he didn't want to do, but he hadn't quite realized what they meant beyond the moment he said them. He didn't do things he doesn't want to do, so he only does things he wants to do. And what he wants to do...

Is be with Billie.

Huh.

He... wants to be around them. He wants to see their eyes light up when they see the stars they've never seen, like the way they've been lighting up recently when they look at him, and more than that, he wants them to see the stars just because they want to.

This was... something. Mason couldn't figure out what this was supposed to mean, if it meant anything at all beyond just wanting to see the stars in Billie's eyes.

Thankfully, Billie never left him lost for long. 

They took a step towards him and, taking his hand in theirs, softly asked, "Mason, will you come see the stars with me?"

Well, there was really only one way to answer that.

He entwined their fingers together, closed the gap between them, and after a brief moment to be sure they were okay with it, pressed his lips firmly over theirs. He wrapped his other arm around Billie's back as they eagerly responded, pulling them tightly against him so he could feel every inch of them as he desperately deepened the kiss. He felt their hand come up to bury itself in his hair and a groan escaped him as they gently grabbed hold.

He was so full of... _something_ , it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He wanted Billie, he wanted to be with them, around them, in them, he wanted to see their blush spread from their ears to their cheeks to their neck, he wanted to see them laughing, he wanted to see them crying out his name in pleasure, he wanted to see them happy; he wanted _them_ , but he didn't know how to convey that. Not yet, anyway. So right now he would have to settle for what he did know, and what he knew was exactly how to push Billie's buttons until they were a sobbing mess.

He turned them around so his back was facing the entrance to the ballroom and Billie was against the railing, obscured from the view of any possible onlookers, as he slowly traced his hand along their suit from their back to their chest, dipping beneath the jacket to feel their nipple hardening through their shirt.

Billie had to break away from the kiss with a moan that was desperately trying not to become a whimper. "This is..."

"Do you want to stop?" Mason whispered. He watched as their eyes flickered behind him, and he extended his senses past just Billie. "That speaker is still going on, nobody's gonna come see. And there's no one below the balcony, either," he added. He spoke so closely to their lips that every word was nearly a kiss itself. "I'll stop before anyone would ever know. Trust me on that."

He watched their pupils dilate until there was only a sliver of blue left, and as soon as they nodded and he heard, "Go ahead," he crushed their lips together again and finally released Billie's other hand so he could use his to start unbuttoning their jacket and shirt. Both of Billie's hands were now finding purchase in his hair, and fuck, he had never had a thing for hair pulling before, but they were making a strong case for it at the moment.

With the jacket and shirt open, Mason let one hand come up to cup and knead a breast through their bra as his other traced the zipper on their pants. He did his best to swallow every moan Billie let out, and his best was damn good; he always wanted to hear the noises they made, but he wouldn't get to hear many more of them if he let someone overhear what they were doing out here, which was drastically more important.

He had planned to drag it out, let them feel every click of the zipper as it worked down the teeth as he worked over their mouth and breast, but Billie was as excited as he was. They brought one hand down from his head and grabbed the hand on their zipper, forcing it down all the way, and instead of returning that hand to its new home, they let it roam his chest, giving his nipple the same treatment. He tried to hold in a shiver and failed miserably, and the resulting grin he could feel breaking their kiss had him smirking in return.

"In a hurry, sweetheart? I thought you trusted me. I'm hurt," he teased, giving their breast a good squeeze before moving to the other.

"Oh, come off it." Their breathing was getting ragged, and they were having trouble focusing on his eyes, they were so worked up.

"That's the plan." Aha! There was that flush he liked so much, right at the ears. If he could keep it up, he would definitely be able to see it spread. "Do you want me to touch you, sweetheart?" He whispered, slipping his fingers under their underwear just enough to feel the soft curls there and running them along their sensitive skin. "Do you want to feel my fingers inside you?"

A whine escaped Billie as they tried their best to stay quiet without the aid of Mason's tongue, one hand still grasping his hair, the other clenched in his shirt.

Mason pulled their bra down so it sat under their breasts, pushing them up and letting the cool night air brush over both now-hard nipples before letting one hand return to cup them again and rolling a nub between thumb and forefinger. He let his breath ghost over their cheeks as he pushed just a little closer to where he knew they wanted him most right now. "I can smell it, you know. I can smell how wet you are, without even having actually touched you there. Do you know how good it is? How hard it gets me, to know how much you want it?"

"Mason, please, I - I need -"

"What is it? What do you need?" He traced the edge of their jaw with his tongue, delighting in the shiver they felt as the air cooled the line he left.

"I need you, please, Mason, just - mmph!"

He silenced their pleas with a kiss as he gave in. As much as he loved the teasing, they really didn't have a lot of time to play. He dipped his fingers between their folds, feeling how truly wet they were, slicking them up before slowly sliding one digit in. The sob of relief against his lips, the way their hips twitched forward with every circle of his thumb over their clit, the way he could feel every beat of their heart as if it were his own; fuck, he never got tired of this, _could_ never get tired of this. Nothing else, no one else would ever compare.

He slid in another finger and curled them just so, committing the feel of every sound they made in his mouth to memory, squeezing their breast firmly and speeding up his hand. "Come on, sweetheart," He mumbled against their mouth, "Come on, Billie, come for me, right here." They cried into him again and he quickly ran his arm around their back to pull them closer as they came, clenching around his fingers and pulling his hair taut. He slowed his fingers, but never stopped their caress until he felt their hand thump gently against his chest; pulling his hand back out, he leaned back just far enough to see Billie's face, red and panting and eyes half closed with sudden exhaustion, but smiling wide all the same.

That same tightness in his chest hit him again at the sight, and rather than question it, he raised his hand to his mouth and started cleaning his fingers with his tongue, locking his grey eyes on blue. They shivered and let out a quiet curse as they watched, enraptured, their own tongue peeking out to lick their lips as he finished.

"What — " they had to clear their throat before trying again, and Mason couldn't help but be proud of the mess he'd made as they redid their clothing. "What about you?" 

He took another moment to listen out. People were starting to move around slowly, but he couldn't hear the speaker, so she must have just wrapped up. "Sounds like we don't have time for that now," he said. He smirked at the frown that appeared in response and stepped aside to lean against the railing again as he waited for his own arousal to fade. "Disappointed?" 

"Kinda," Billie admitted, turning their face out over the balcony, letting the night air cool the heat in their cheeks. 

Mason knocked his shoulder against theirs. "Don't worry about it. Let me come by after you head home, and you can show me all the stars you want."

He got a scoff and a shove for his trouble, but Billie also grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers before looking back up at the sky, so it was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't going to be spicy at all, but then Mason happened. Which I feel is really The M Experience.
> 
> Ava absolutely knew immediately and gave both Billie and Mason a lecture. Nat was scandalized and Felix gave a thumbs up from behind Ava's back.


End file.
